The image of the Andalusian PSOE, minutes before María Jesús Montero entered through the door, had not been remembered in the socialist ranks for years. Something has happened. Faces have changed, frowns have relaxed, tempers have risen. The vice president of the Government, Minister of Finance and deputy secretary general of the federal PSOE entered, but the Andalusian socialists saw “one of our own” arrive, and with her a flash of hope.
And as soon as she entered, under the thunderous chords of Medina Azahara, the minister raised both arms in the air with her fists clenched, energetically, in a sign of victory. The PSOE exploded into cathartic euphoria. “Andalusia, the place I have not returned to because I never left. I am still in Andalusia, I have always worked for Andalusia”, were his words, responded with thunderous applause.
Hope is intangible, especially in a party with a secular vocation, but here in Seville it is normal to carry little cards of saints in your pocket and put a candle to the Virgin asking for a miracle. The Andalusian PSOE has a backbone of emotions and without that drive it becomes blurred. It is not recognized.
The first thing that Montero told his people is that “Andalusia needs a strong PSOE, that believes it.” The presentation of the minister’s pre-candidacy for the primaries to lead the largest federation of the party, with its more than 40,000 members, has been about beliefs and emotions. “We have chosen the best we had because the message is ambition: we are going to play all or nothing,” said a leader of the regional executive, pointing to the regional elections of 2026.
Montero entered the lounge of the hotel in Seville where fifty militants from all the provinces, from all the families who until yesterday were in conflict in the PSOE, were waiting for her. He was accompanied by Juan Espadas, the leader who has renounced re-election to join a “winning option”, an image of unity that was the first objective of this “agreed transition” between Montero, Espadas and Pedro Sánchez himself, according to sources who have participated in the negotiation.
Whoever is going to replace him has dedicated great words of praise and recognition to Espadas, who has led the party in opposition for the last three and a half years, with four electoral defeats to his credit. “The comrade who brought the witness here is a committed comrade who has given his all, I want to recognize the work and task carried out by Juan Espadas, our general secretary, who has done an immense job. Thank you Juan, the party is immensely grateful to you,” he told him.
The Sevillian leader presented her candidacy for the socialist primaries to be the next general secretary of the Andalusian PSOE, but before that she announced that she has come to win the next regional elections against President Juan Manuel Moreno. It is the priority, and he repeated it over and over again. “We are going to win, win, win,” he said. To regain power and return to the government from which they were expelled in 2018.
Montero has already begun to campaign for elections and opposition to the Andalusian PP, which he accused of its “lack of ambition and its inability to exercise self-government.” “Juanma Moreno does not exercise policies that are endorsed in our Statute of Autonomy, there are every reason to say that we are determined to win the next regional elections, because we are going to win them. “We are going to win them!” he repeated again.
The vice president of the Government plans to combine a devilish agenda in Madrid with the preparation of the Andalusian PSOE in record time, just a year and a half until the elections. With it comes the pending negotiation of the General Budgets for 2025, the reform of the regional financing model, with a separate chapter for the unique financing of Catalonia already agreed with ERC, and the redesign of the fiscal architecture of Spain, with a tax burden lower than the European average.
As long as it has one foot there and one here, Moreno’s PP will question its commitment to Andalusia. The spokesperson for the Board and Minister of the Treasury, Carolina España, already demanded that he resign from his positions in Madrid in the morning, in the intervention after the Government Council. Montero, with a self-confidence that Espadas never displayed, snorted about the “concern” that his candidacy has unleashed in the Moreno Executive, and urged him to “govern instead of meddling in the affairs of another party.”
The minister has also come to recruit all the militants who had their hands in their pockets, urging them to roll up their sleeves and understand that regaining power is everyone’s business. “My step forward in this general secretariat must be a step forward for each militant to say yes, we are here to fight injustice, bring wealth, distribute it and build together a rich land, which allows the south to rise with ambition, desire and strength. “I invite you all,” he summarized.
The PSOE organization of Seville had moved the presentation of Montero’s candidacy from the provincial headquarters to a hotel in the Nervión neighborhood, because the calls from militants to attend the event overflowed the space provided at the headquarters. They were then summoned to a room with capacity for 250 chairs, which quickly became too small because more than twice as many attendees crowded around them, most of them standing.
There were Susanista mayors and councilors who had not been seen for years and, at their side, deputies and leaders related to Juan Espadas, the leader who has resigned from reelection to “support a winning project,” in reference to Montero. There were three provincial secretaries – Seville, Cádiz and Huelva -: one critical, who asked for Espadas’ resignation, Juan Carlos Ruiz Boix from Cádiz, along with another who supported him until almost the end, such as Javier Fernández from Seville. There were veterans of the Andalusian PSOE such as Luis Yañez, José Caballos, Amparo Rubiales, and national leaders, such as the vice president of Congress, the Sevillian Alfonso Rodríguez Gómez de Celis.
“The atmosphere is energetic, angry. There is desire. We have left the sadness behind,” summarized a provincial leader. Montero has repeated several times that “Andalusia hurts” under the PP governments. “This land needs to raise its voice. The south is essential for a fair Spain,” he stated. And he ended by thanking the militancy that has traveled from “all corners of Andalusia solely and exclusively to say that we are here. We are here and we are willing to fight the battle, so we are going to win it,” he stated. His speech lasted just under 40 minutes, but then he stayed to distribute hugs, kisses and share photos with everyone who asked.
Source: www.eldiario.es
